Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt

Before, the accident, Izzy's life had been wonderful, she was an attractive cheerleader with lots of friends. But now the greyness of her life is swallowing her up, and whilst her family try to make things okay, her friends are too uncomfortable to be around and she is finding life as an amputee difficult. Then Rosamunde bounds into her life, providing her with support and teaching her persistence to overcome the hurdles of school. This book is all about human survival and growth. Izzy makes you laugh and cry, but mostly she makes you want to stand and applaud.

Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

This book was a Newberry Medal winner. It is the beginning of summer and Dicey Tillerman’s mother has abandoned her and her family and is later found in an asylum unaware or anything around her. So Dicey Tillerman, her brothers James and Sammy, and her sister Maybeth have to live with their grandmother, Gram, whom they have never met before. Dicey finds looking after her siblings quite a demanding task, after all she is only thirteen. Alll she really wants is some time to herself and time to restore an old sailboat she has found. This book would appeal to students in grade 6 -9.